Forget The Breeze
by carissima
Summary: Set after This Charming Man. Emma has enough to worry about without more chaos entering her world, but she just can't keep away from her troublesome exboyfriend. SeanEmma.
1. Like You Said

**AN: Okay, this is set somewhere in the middle of This Charming Man, and quickly veers off course from there. Sean/Emma, of course. What else? Oh, and I unashamedly 'borrow' some dialogue from TCM, but only the first conversation. The rest is all me.**

Emma was elated, a feeling she hadn't felt that often recently, and yet Chris wasn't sharing her excitement.

"So what about Simpson's computer?" he was asking her.

"What about it?" Emma's mind was focused on one thing and one thing only. And it wasn't Snake's laptop.

"I thought that's why you did all this?" Chris pointed out.

"It was. But now Sean's finally gonna pay for what he did for me. Or Snake. What he did to Snake," she quickly backtracked, seeing the look on Chris' face.

"You lied to Raditch," Chris accused.

Emma wanted to scream. He just wasn't getting it! "So?" she said, brushing the fact away. So she'd lied. It had only been a tiny white lie. And it had served the greater good. Getting Sean Cameron two months of Saturday detentions was worth a lot more than the cost of telling a small lie. "Everyone knows he's been stealing. Sean's finally getting what he deserves."

"No he isn't."

Emma's eyes widened at his words. Of course he was getting what he deserved. In fact, it wasn't nearly enough, but she was willing to take what she could get.

"Just face it, Em, you're not over him."

Blinking, Em tried to focus on his words. "Chris?"

"And I'm just wasting my time," he muttered before walking away.

_You're not over him. You're not over him. You're not over him._

The words echoed in her mind as she stared at Chris' departing body.

_You're not over him._

Leaning back against the cold lockers, Emma's gaze dropped to the floor as the blood rushed from her face.

_You're not over him._

It was ridiculous, she told herself fervently. Of course she was over Sean Cameron. He'd broken her heart without a second thought, revealed himself to be a petty, childish boy, who couldn't bear to come second to anything. There was absolutely no way that she wasn't over him. She'd seen his true colours, and she didn't like it at all. She felt physically sick every time she remembered the violence in his body when he'd slammed her locker. She'd actually flinched from him, remembering the moment he'd pushed her to the ground two years before. And that had been her mistake. She'd actually thought that was a one-time thing. Okay, so he hadn't meant to push her to the ground, and he hadn't laid a finger on her, even when his temper had snapped, but the signs were all there. And the simple fact was …

Sean was not the one for her. He was too moody, too needy, too closed off. He needed more attention than she could afford to give, he flew into a temper at the drop of a hat, and he was the most insensitive jerk she'd ever met. At least, he was lately.

_You're not over him._

A pair of black and white sneakers appeared right in the spot she'd been staring blankly at.

"Nice try, little busybody," Jay's sneer interrupted her thoughts.

And she'd never thought she'd be so glad to hear his voice.

"Thanks," she muttered, dragging her eyes away from the floor and bringing them up to fix on a spot on the wall just behind his head.

"The best thing Sean ever did was cut you loose," Jay said with a grin.

"I agree," Emma said dryly, raising her eyebrows in an attempt to make Jay think that his words were boring the hell out of her.

"Now you've got your 'revenge'," he said with a roll of his eyes, "you think you might stop stalking us?"

"Check your ego at the door, Jay," Emma yawned. Partly for effect, partly because she really hadn't slept well in over three months. "You're the one who came up to talk to me. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some fundraising to plan. You know, to buy the school a new DVD player."

"Oh my, what happened to the last one?" Jay asked, feigning ignorance with wide eyes.

Emma narrowed her eyes as she finally focused them on his taunting expression. "One day, Jay, you're going to be ripped apart, by someone, or something. I really hope I have front row tickets."

"Keep dreaming, little bit," Jay mocked, as she swept past him.

Sean waited until Emma was halfway down the hall before stepping towards Jay. "What were you talking to her for?"

"I think I've found my new favorite past-time, Sean, buddy," Jay smirked, clapping Sean on the back. "Since I can't get my cheap thrills from stealing candy from The Dot, they'll have to come from messing with Greenpeace there."

"Whatever, man," Sean brushed it off, his eyes flickering back to Emma as she rounded the corner. "She's not worth the hassle."

Just as she turned towards MI, Emma felt something prickle the back of her neck. Figuring it was Jay, she swivelled her head, aimed with her fiercest glare, only to connect with Sean's eyes. He was gone from her eyesight before she could blink, but she refused to feel anything but smug satisfaction.

_You're not over him._

She'd show Chris, Jay, Sean, and everyone else. Emma Nelson was on her own, and she liked it that way. She didn't need any of them. And she sure as hell didn't want any of them in her life. It was complicated enough already.

* * *

By the end of the day, all Emma wanted to do was go home, curl up on her bed in the basement and sleep the rest of the year away. Unfortunately, no one else got the memo.

"Em?"

She heard him, but she really didn't want to speak to him.

"Em, wait up," he called.

"What is it, Chris?" she sighed.

"About before … I wanted to apologise," he said sheepishly.

"Fine, apology accepted," she said briskly. "I'm sorry; I have a birthday party to get to."

"Okay," Chris nodded. He dug around in his backpack for something, before handing it over to her. "That's the CD. He'll like it."

"Thanks, Chris." Emma managed a smile. "You're a good friend."

"Friend," he repeated. "Yeah."

Turning, Emma headed for her locker. Well, that's one more bridge burned, she figured. And it was probably a good thing, since she felt only relief.

_You're not over him._

Just because she didn't fall into someone else's slutty arms, it didn't mean that she wasn't over her stupid ex-boyfriend. Sean could make out with Amy Slutterson all he liked, it was none of her business, but she wasn't going to retaliate by making out with the sluttest boy she could find. Well, actually, that would be Craig right now, judging by the rumors she'd heard about Manny and Ashley, so that would be a double hell no.

Speaking of, Manny was waiting for her at her locker. Wonderful.

"Manny," she started. "I'm just not-"

"Em, I need to talk to you," Manny whispered, her head lowered.

"What's wrong?" Emma's instincts kicked into overdrive, her bag falling to the floor and her arm around her friend in seconds.

"Not here," Manny said quietly, looking around at the crowds.

"It's Snake's birthday …" Emma began, frowning.

"Of course it is," Manny sighed. "Look, I'll catch you another time, okay?"

"No, not okay," Emma said firmly. "I just meant that we couldn't go to my place. Let's go find a place outside, away from everyone."

Picking up her bag, she dragged Manny by the arm through the school doors and around the side of the building.

"What's up?" she asked gently.

"I … I think I might be …" Manny paused, tears gathering in her eyes.

"You can tell me, Manny," Emma assured her, her heart rate speeding up as she ran through alarming possibilities in her mind.

"Pregnant," she finished on a sob.

Pregnant. The word had Emma frozen, staring at her petite friend in shock.

"Craig?" she whispered.

Manny just nodded.

"Oh, Manny," Emma sighed, gathering her friend into her arms and holding her tightly as the sobs wracked her body. "Don't cry. We'll figure it out."

"It's such a mess!" Manny wailed.

"Shh," Emma crooned, repeating the sound over and over until Manny eventually stopped crying and stood swiping at the wetness on her cheeks. "Okay, first, we need to make sure, and then we'll figure it out from there."

"Okay," Manny whispered. "You'll be there, right?"

"Of course I will," Emma said soothingly. "We'll pick up a pregnancy test and we'll do it at my place."

Manny said nothing, but gripped Emma's hand tightly.

What had she said about her life being complicated enough already? Apparently, the gods weren't through with her yet.

Silently, the girls walked for ten minutes until they reached the mall, and they headed straight for the pharmacy. Manny looked at the pregnancy tests with such horror and fear in her eyes that Emma took control. Letting go of Manny's trembling hands, she told her friend to wait outside, and she'd take care of it. She watched as the brunette walked slowly out of the store, as if in a trance, before picking up two different tests and reading the instructions on both, before replacing the cheaper one.

She held it tightly as she took out her purse and counted to see if she had the right change. Sighing in relief, she took out the coins and headed for the counter, completely unaware of anything except for the test in her hand and the terrified girl waiting outside, waiting to see if her life was about to be forever changed, so she didn't notice the person walking her way, and she didn't step out of their way, having not seen them. She jumped in surprise as a large man barrelled into her, and then jumped again as someone from behind steadied her, keeping her on her feet.

"Thanks-" she paused as she turned to see who had saved her from ending up sprawled on the floor, only to look straight at a very familiar face.

"You okay?" he asked gruffly, as if the words were dragged out of him without his consent.

"Fine," she managed to say. If her voice was a little higher than normal, it was only because she'd almost been crushed underfoot by some large, ghastly man. "Thanks."

"No prob- …" his voice trailed off as he caught sight of what was in her hands.

Emma's heart sank as her eyes darted to Manny's still shaking form, outside the store. Crap. "Uh, I gotta go. Bye."

She could feel Sean's eyes boring into her skull as she headed for the counter. She could feel him watching her even as the pharmacist glared at her, taking in her purchase and age, before she practically threw the money at him, grabbed the test and ran out of the store, grabbing Manny as she flew past and headed out of the mall.

"Sean saw me," she muttered as she forced Manny into a virtual run in her hurry to get home.

"Sean?" Manny's eyes widened and threatened to spill more tears.

"Hey, don't worry," Emma tried to smile and ease her friend's tears. "I didn't tell him it was for you, and I don't think he saw you. It's okay."

Manny visibly relaxed, but Emma remained tense for the rest of the walk home. No, Sean didn't think the test was for Manny. But she had a good idea who he thought the test was for, and her life just got even more complicated. Wonderful. Just ... wonderful.


	2. It's Delicate

**AN: I'm glad people enjoyed the first chapter, and I hope the second lives up to expectations. I'm having a blast writing this, I hope you're having as much fun reading it.**

One pink line. Faint, but there all the same. Emma's eyes dropped from the stick Manny was shakily holding out to her friend's flat midriff.

"What am I going to do, Em?" Manny asked tearfully.

Pulling her into a hug, Emma stroked her hair until the trembling stopped.

"We'll talk to my mom," she said firmly. "If anyone knows what to do, it's her, right?"

"Right," Manny whispered.

"But not now," Emma sighed. "Everyone's enjoying the party. Why don't you stay over tonight, and we'll talk to her in the morning?"

"Okay," Manny agreed. "I don't think I could face my parents anyway."

"Why don't you go call them, tell them you're staying over, and we'll go raid the party food and disappear to the basement?" Emma suggested. "I think Mom has a few baby books stashed down there."

"Baby books," Manny echoed blankly.

"Manny, it'll be okay, I promise," Emma said steadily. "We'll figure it all out."

As Manny disappeared to phone her parents, Emma sank onto the floor, wrapping the pregnancy test in a bundle of tissue before putting it in the waste bin. Sooner or later, she figured, once Manny snapped out of the daze she was in, she'd realise that Emma was lying through her teeth. She had no idea how this could be okay.

* * *

Neither of them spoke on the way to school in the morning. Manny had talked to Spike for an hour that morning, and Emma wasn't sure if she'd figured out what she was going to do about the baby, but at least she was now fully aware of how huge this was. Manny was going to have a baby, and it was going to change her life as much as it had changed her mom's. But Emma would be there for her, every step of the way. 

"I've got to go and talk to Craig," Manny murmured as she spotted the curly haired boy walking up the steps to school.

"Good luck," Emma said softly to her before Manny hurried away.

Pausing, Emma watched her friend disappear into the building. Which was a mistake, considering.

"Hey, Greenpeace," Jay's voice carried from behind her.

Rolling her eyes, Emma ignored him and followed the crowd into school.

"Not avoiding me, are you?" he asked, feigning hurt as he slipped into step next to her.

"If only I had that luxury," she said tightly as she stopped at her locker. Jay was the last person she needed to see right now.

"Leave her alone, man." Sean appeared behind Jay.

Correction. _He_ was the last person she needed to see right now.

"We're just having a conversation, right Emma?" Jay asked innocently.

"Take his advice, Jay," Emma said quietly. "I'm not in the mood."

"Bet you heard that a lot, huh, Cameron?" Jay chuckled.

"Come on," Sean muttered, grabbing Jay's arm and yanking him away.

"What's up with you?" she heard Jay saying to Sean as they walked away.

Oh, nothing, Emma answered for him silently. Just that he probably thinks his uptight ex-girlfriend has got herself knocked up.

A nervous giggle escaped her lips. Clapping her hand over her mouth, Emma gave herself a mental shake. Now was not the time to go crazy. Just because her stepfather was in chemo for cancer, her Mom was struggling to raise a toddler and teenage daughter, her best friend was pregnant, Jay was stalking her and Sean hated her, that was no reason to fall apart.

As the bell rang for homeroom, Emma sighed, slamming the locker door shut before heading down the corridor. Her gaze landed on Manny, whose composure wasn't as steady as it had been a few minutes ago. Slipping into the seat next to her, Emma squeezed her hand tightly.

"It'll be okay," Manny said to herself, but Emma heard her. She smiled encouragingly. That was more like it.

She looked up, finally, to see where JT was, since he'd stolen her homework for English yesterday and she needed it before next period. He wasn't in front of her, so she turned in her seat, only to find Sean right behind her. He wasn't looking at her; rather he was looking at her hand clasped in Manny's tight grip. Before she could look away though, his gaze rose to meet hers, and she was pretty sure he could read the panic she was incapable of hiding.

Dropping Manny's hand like it was on fire; Emma dragged her gaze away from Sean's and thankfully found JT next to him. Indicating that she wanted her homework back, he fished it out of his bag and passed it to Sean. Groaning silently, Emma snatched it away from him and spun around, long past the point of caring what Sean thought of her behaviour, and determinedly fixed her eyes on the clock, counting the seconds until she could escape.

She made it to English before the rest of the class, and staked out a seat at the back. Manny sat next to her, and remained glued to her side until lunchtime, when she disappeared. Taking advantage, Emma headed to the cafeteria, picked up lunch and sat at the furthest table away from Craig, who she'd spotted as soon as she'd walked into the room. She knew he was trying to catch her eye, so she fixed her gaze on her tray, never looking up, not even when JT, Toby and Liberty joined her.

Unfortunately, Craig wasn't taking the hint.

"Emma?" he said loudly, appearing in front of her.

"Not now, Craig," Emma said quietly but firmly.

"Yes. Now," he insisted, reaching out to grab her arm.

"Craig, let go of me," Emma sighed.

"We need to talk," he said adamantly.

"We really don't," she said gently. She understood. Honestly, she did. Manny probably dropped the bombshell on him this morning, and now she wasn't anywhere to be found. But it was between them.

"Emma!" he cried out in frustration, jerking her arm in attempt to make her stand up so he could ask her all the questions he couldn't ask the absent Manny.

"Let go of her."

Emma blinked. That sounded like …

"This is none of your business, Sean," Craig said a little wildly.

"Maybe not," he said, anger bristling in his voice. "But you're still going to let go of her."

Emma finally raised her eyes for the first time since sitting down, to see Sean standing beside his friend. Where had he come from? And what the hell did he think he was doing? The days of Sean saving her were long gone. By his own choice. Hell, he was usually the guy she needed saving from.

Except … he thought she was pregnant. Because he's an idiot with no brain, she reminded herself, ignoring the little bubble way down deep inside that she was suppressing with all her might. He dumped her for being too uptight, and three months later, he thought she was pregnant? He didn't have the right to save her, ever again. He'd broken her heart, he'd given up all rights to ever get all protective ever again.

Jerk. He was _such_ an ass.

"Sean, it's okay," Emma said quietly. Impressed with her ability to talk to him in a normal voice, instead of the accusing or hurt tone of late, she figured it was just another reason why Chris was wrong.

_You're not over him._

"Back off, Craig," Sean said warningly, putting his hand on Craig's arm.

"Sean, you don't understand! I have to talk to her!" Craig's voice rose.

Emma just knew everyone was staring at them. If Manny hadn't been pregnant and terrified, she would seriously entertain thoughts of smothering her best friend with a pillow.

"Lovers quarrel?"

Excellent. The only thing this scene was missing was Jay's interference. The gods despised her.

"Not now, Jay," Sean sighed, his hand still on Craig's.

"I just can't figure out who the lovers are. Don't tell me you're switching to the other team, Sean," Jay shook his head sadly. "Although Craig, it's kinda obvious. Or has Seany got a thing for his prissy ex-girlfriend?" he asked, turning towards Emma. "I think I'd rather he was queer."

Emma giggled. She couldn't help it. The whole situation was ridiculous, and nothing to do with her, and yet she had three guys making a scene in front of the whole school. She was going crazy.

Jay blinked. Emma wasn't mean to laugh at his insults.

"Emma!" Craig pleaded.

"Craig, we have nothing to talk about," Emma repeated. "And there's the bell."

He reluctantly let go of her and shrugged Sean's hand away before stalking out of the cafeteria.

"Let's go," Jay said, turning to head out too.

Sean took one last look at Emma, who steadfastly ignored him by keeping her eyes on her tray, before he followed Jay.

She didn't care that Sean had proclaimed himself her protector, she told herself resolutely.

_You're not over him._

Ignoring the voice in her head, because she was clearly crazy if she was hearing voices and so couldn't take a word they said seriously, she picked up her bag and headed out too.

She was going to kill Manny, pregnancy or not.


	3. Not Hard To Fall

**AN: Alright, third chapter! No Jay, unfortunately, but lots of Sean/Emma.**

"Manuella Santos!" Emma yelled as she walked through the front door. "I'm going to kill you!"

Manny's head appeared, peering out from the kitchen. "What did I do?"

"What did you do?" Emma chuckled to herself wryly. "What did you do? Well, let's see. Thanks to you, I had Craig threatening to drag me halfway around town just to find you, since you ditched at lunch. I also have Sean, who thinks I'm pregnant, which just makes me want to hit him on his stupid head. And then I have the whole school trying to figure out if I'm dating Craig, after his crazy behavior in the cafeteria, and whether Sean is being the jealous ex-boyfriend, since he tried to interfere, when really, he just thinks that I'm pregnant.

… have I mentioned that Sean is a stupid jackass?" Emma finished, finally running out of breath.

"Oh, Em," Manny laughed softly. "I'm sorry. I really am. I never meant for you to get involved in my horrible mess."

"What are friends for?" she sighed as she dropped her bag and fell onto the sofa.

"You've gone above and beyond the call of duty," Manny said sadly. "You're the best. I really appreciate it, Emma."

"I know you do," Emma said, smiling at her with as much sincerity as she could muster at that precise moment. "But if you could just talk to Craig, and maybe remind him that manhandling me isn't okay, that'd be great."

"I will," she promised. "I just … needed some time."

"I know you did," Emma sighed.

Manny walked across the room and sank onto the sofa next to her best friend. Lowering her head onto the blonde's shoulder, she felt Emma rest her head against her own.

Neither of them moved for a long time.

"I should really start dinner," Emma said unenthusiastically.

"I'll help," Manny echoed in a similar tone.

"Come on, mommy," Emma teased as she got to her feet.

Manny groaned. "Low blow."

"Did I mention that Sean thinks I'm pregnant with Craig's baby?!" Emma called flippantly over her shoulder as she headed for the kitchen.

"I'll talk to Craig tomorrow, I promise!" she giggled.

"I'm glad I can provide some comic relief in your time of need," Emma said dryly, hiding the twinkle in her eye.

"Me too," Manny grinned, giving Emma a swift hug before opening the fridge door.

* * *

She'd gotten a muttered apology from Craig before class began, which she'd accepted magnanimously after seeing his bloodshot eyes and the slump in his shoulders. She'd even gone as far as to pat his arm gently before heading off to class. 

And now she was seriously considering asking Manny to give the same talk to Sean.

It wasn't like he was trying to talk to her, or anything. It was just … he was always watching her. And not in the cute way he'd once watched her. This look didn't make her smile to herself and cause her stomach to flip over. It definitely did something to her stomach, but it was more like a sinking feeling. It was a slow, steady look that he didn't break, even when she looked up and caught him doing it. She'd tried ignoring him. She'd tried staring back, but that had just caused an extremely uncomfortable two minutes that she never wanted to relive again. Which left her with her third and only option … glaring at Manny.

Except she had to look away any time Manny actually turned towards her, since she couldn't make her feel any worse than she already did. She'd had another talk this morning with Spike, and Emma still had no idea what Manny was going to do. Until she decided, Emma was keeping her mouth shut.

Catching Sean's eye again, Emma sighed. She just hoped Manny figured it out soon.

Everything was going fairly smoothly, until last period gym class. Manny had a note excusing herself from the class from Spike, so she sat on the bleachers and watched the rest of the class playing volleyball.

Emma spent most of the period at the back for once, not throwing herself into the game as she usually did. She was keeping an eye on Manny, and trying to avoid being anywhere near Sean, who was still watching her.

"Emma!"

JT's shout had her jumping, just as the ball dropped to the ground at her feet. Trying to look apologetic, she picked up the ball and threw it across the net. "Sorry!"

She honestly tried to pay attention during the game, but her eyes kept drifting back to Manny, and eventually, her team just gave up and covered her position for her. Which suited her just fine.

The next thing she knew, she was lying flat on her back with something heavy on top of her, knocking all the air out of her lungs and leaving her trying to gasp for breath.

"Emma!"

She turned her head slightly to see Sean running toward her. She must have hit her head, since the sight of Sean heading her way wouldn't normally make her smile these days. Another sign of madness.

"Get off her!" she heard him growl, before the weight on top of her disappeared.

Belatedly, she realised that Liberty and Chris had been the weight on top of her. They'd apparently both been going for the ball, which should have been Emma's but she hadn't it seen coming, again. Liberty, not being the most graceful person in the world, had tripped and fallen into Chris, who'd been knocked off balance and fallen back onto Emma.

"Em, you okay?" Sean asked, a hint of urgency in his voice as he stared down at her from his kneeling position next to her.

Emma blinked up at him. Was she okay? Considering she had a weird urge to grab Sean's head and pull him down until their lips met, she was thinking no.

"I hit my head," she muttered. "I must have hit my head."

Coach Armstrong was standing behind Sean, looking concerned. "Emma, are you alright?"

"She needs to see the nurse," Sean said, standing up.

"Can you walk?" Armstrong asked Emma.

"I've got it," Sean said as he bent down and slipped one arm under her body and one arm under her head, lifting her easily into his arms.

"I'm hallucinating," Emma said to herself.

It was a nice hallucination, she decided.

_You're not over him._

Sure she was. She was just going crazy, that's all.

Sean headed in the direction of the nurse's office.

"Are you okay?" he asked again.

"That depends," Emma closed her eyes. "Are you going to drop me?"

Instead of a smart response, she heard him sigh, which made her open her eyes.

"It was a joke," she said quietly.

"It wasn't very funny," he told her.

"Yeah, I get that a lot," Emma mused.

"You shouldn't have been playing," he said gruffly.

"We need to talk," Emma whispered, as she shut her eyes again. "You've got it wrong."

"Have I?" he asked dryly. "The evidence is pretty damning, Em."

Emma let a giggle escape.

"This isn't funny," he growled as they rounded the corner to the nurses office.

"It's hilarious," Emma countered. "Damning evidence, Sean? You of all people shouldn't believe everything you think you see."

Sean said nothing.

"You know, you can go to hell," Emma said, her anger getting the best of her. "You don't get to have anything to do with me anymore. No talking to me, no watching me, no carrying me to the nurses office."

"Fine by me," he said angrily.

"Are you going to drop me now, Sean?" Emma mocked, seeing the familiar flash in his eyes whenever he lost his temper.

His mouth tightened. "Of course not."

"Because you're trying to learn to control your temper?" Emma asked sweetly. "Or because I'm pregnant?"

Sean stopped dead, his eyes zeroing in on hers.

"Put me down," Emma said, her eyes blazing. "I can walk."

"Emma …" Sean paused.

"You're unbelievable," Emma shook her head. "You never really knew me, did you? You can blame our break up on me all you like, but we both know the truth. If you'd known me, really known me, then none of this would have happened. None of it. I thought you broke my heart three months ago, Cameron, but I was wrong. Because it's breaking now."

And with that, she turned her back and headed into the office alone.

* * *

"Em, you okay?" Manny asked as she stepped out of the nurses office. 

"Fine," she assured her, her smile bright, even if it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Just a little bump on the head that made me temporarily lose my sanity."

"Huh?" Manny asked, confused.

"I must have been crazy to let Sean carry me here," Emma pointed out. "And then I made him lose his temper, as usual, before I told him that he broke my heart."

"Oh, Emma," Manny sighed, wrapping her arm around Emma's waist.

"It's okay," Emma said firmly. "It really is. Sean is now my past. It's time to look to the future."

"Funny you should say that …" Manny trailed off as they walked out of the building. "I've figured out what I'm going to do about … the baby."

Squeezing her hand, Emma smiled sympathetically at her friend. "What did you decide?"

"I'm going to have an abortion," Manny whispered.

Emma stumbled, her legs giving out on her. An abortion? Termination. No baby …

"No," she whispered. "No, you can't."

"Emma, try to understand," Manny pleaded. "I've spoken to my mom, and she was really understanding about it all, much more understanding than I ever thought she'd be. And she agrees with me, Em. I can't have this baby. I just …can't!"

Emma watched as Manny fled down the steps and into her mom's car. Sinking to the ground, Emma stared blankly ahead.


	4. Ask For More

**AN: This chapter is a little short, but that's because I'm not so sure about this chapter. It's a little different ... let me know if you like, or if you want me to go back to All Emma chapters. Oh, and I 'borrowed' from Accidents Will Happen. Again. I like to borrow, but only a little. The rest is all me.**

Sean's weekend had been pretty crappy. Jay had spent the entire time with Alex, he'd spent most of Saturday in detention with Raditch, Amy had decided to leave him for some motor cross guy, and oh yeah, Emma told him that he was breaking her heart, and to leave her the hell alone … and she was pregnant.

Well, that was fine with him. He didn't need Emma, and her judgemental attitude. For the first time since grade seven, he didn't have to listen to her disapproval of his friends or how late he left his homework, or see the look in her eyes every time they went to his house or she looked at his clothes, or have to watch her pull away every time their kisses got a little heavy.

Except … it didn't make any sense. All they'd ever done was kiss, and yet three months after their break-up, she was acting all suspicious, claiming she was pregnant and Craig was yelling at her?

Shaking his head, Sean pushed it all out of his mind. Like Emma said, it was none of his business anymore. He didn't care if she shacked up with Craig and they knocked out a dozen kids. Nope, he didn't care at all.

Slamming his locker, he stalked to class, glaring at anyone who made the mistake of being in his way.

His frustration didn't ease in MI, since he spent the entire period forcing himself not to even glance Emma's way, and it wasn't as easy as he'd have liked it to be. It didn't help that she was directly in his line of sight, and he could see Manny, who looked kinda sick, staring at Emma, but Emma hadn't glanced at her friend once. Not that he was paying attention.

Casting his eyes down again, he made it another five minutes before giving into temptation and looking up. Emma's gaze was still on her computer, but now he noticed that Mr Simpson was glancing at his step-daughter a lot, and he wore the same concerned expression that Manny did.

Not that he was paying attention. Or that he cared.

He didn't care that Emma was eating lunch alone, outside under a tree. He didn't notice that she hadn't spoken to anyone at all, except for a few teachers when they'd asked her a direct question. He definitely didn't care that she seemed to be in a world of her own, and he definitely didn't notice that her eyes seemed to be permanently glazed over. He didn't care if she'd looked blankly at him when they'd crossed paths in the hall earlier, and he didn't notice that she walked straight past Jay when he tried to goad her into an argument ten minutes ago.

Nope, he didn't notice. Or care. At all.

"Hey, what's up with Greenpeace?" Jay asked as he sat next to him in the cafeteria.

"No idea," he muttered as he pushed a fry across his tray idly.

"She's no fun when she doesn't argue back," Jay sighed, stealing the fry from Sean's tray.

"Why don't you just leave her alone then?" Sean asked, rolling his eyes.

"Hey, just because Amy ditched your ass, there's no need to take it out on me," Jay frowned. "We'll find you another chick."

"I think I'll fly solo for a while," he muttered, watching out the window as Emma unwrapped her lunch and just stared at it as if she didn't know what to do with it.

Jay followed his gaze. "Cameron, tell me you're not still hung up on Little Miss Perfect," he pleaded.

"Of course not," Sean frowned. "She's just been acting weird today."

"She's always acting weird. She _is _weird," Jay said dismissively. "Are you gonna eat that?"

Sean glanced at his tray before pushing it towards him. "All yours."

* * *

By the end of the day, Sean was seriously considering that he'd lost his sanity. His mind was completely occupied by his ex-girlfriend, who he'd thrown out of his life, quite horrifically, if he was honest, and who had then stalked him until she'd finally managed to get him in a lot of trouble, knowing that he was on probation. What the hell was wrong with him? He should be happy, free to do as he pleased, and yet … she looked so sad. No, sad wasn't right. She looked … devastated.

_Because I'm pregnant?_

The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Except … that it didn't. Yes, there was the pregnancy test he'd watched her buy, and the scene with Craig in the cafeteria, the one that had made him see red as soon as he'd seen Craig grab her arm and twist it so that Emma winced, and then there was the fact that she'd said she was pregnant ….

_Or because I'm pregnant?_

Something wasn't right, he was just too frustrated to think clearly. Stepping out of the school building, he headed straight home, not bothering to wait for Jay or a ride home. He could see Craig holding Emma's arm, and he'd jumped straight in, forgetting that Emma wasn't his trouble anymore. Craig was holding her arm. Pregnancy test. Craig. Pregnancy.

His head was throbbing as he tried to figure it all out. Maybe he'd killed all his brain cells at that party with Jay and Towerz last week.

_I thought you broke my heart three months ago, Cameron, but I was wrong. Because it's breaking now._

Why had she told him that? If she'd wanted to hurt him, surely the pregnancy news was bad enough. He'd kinda known that he'd broken her heart, but it was so much worse to hear her say it. To see the look in her eyes, that wounded, dying look that he hated, and that she was so good at.

_You never really knew me, did you?_

She was wrong. He knew she was wrong. Once, he'd known her better than even Manny. He'd known exactly what she was thinking at any time, since she was incapable of hiding her feelings. He'd known when she wanted to talk, and when she wanted to just lay her head on his shoulder and not talk all evening. He'd known … wait.

Manny.

Craig. Pregnancy. _Manny._

Stopping dead, Sean could have kicked himself for not seeing it straight away. It was _Manny_ who was pregnant, not Emma. Of course it wasn't Emma.

He ignored the rush of relief shooting through his body. It was purely ego, he told himself as he started walking again, his steps a little lighter. He just didn't like the thought that Emma had found someone else so quickly, and trusted them enough to sleep with them, when she wouldn't even let him cop a feel. That was all. He didn't bother fighting the feeling of smugness that he did know Emma after all. He'd just … temporarily forgotten, because she didn't matter to him anymore.

Sean blinked as he realised he was smiling. In fact, he wasn't just smiling, he was grinning. Happily.

He quickly rearranged his features into a frown, casting a quick look around to make sure no-one had seen that tiny moment of insanity. Sean Cameron did not walk around grinning happily, he reminded himself. Sean Cameron scowled.

He scowled all the way home.

* * *

Sean was currently congratulating himself on avoiding Emma all day and hardly thinking about her at all, when he rounded a corner to find Craig and Manny in the middle of an argument. He saw Craig grab her arm, just like he'd grabbed Emma's last week. Rolling his eyes, he started forward to break it up when he heard Emma's voice. 

And she was mad. Considering the blank state she'd been in recently, Sean could only stand and stare at her, raging in full flow.

"Craig!" Emma was yelling.

"Emma … butt out! What she's doing is wrong!" Craig yelled back.

Within seconds, Sean had it figured out. Manny was having an abortion, and Craig was mad as hell. And so would Emma be, if he knew her at all.

"I agree with you, okay?! If she was just some stranger, I'd be _furious_ with her, but she's not. She's my friend, and it's her choice," Emma was saying.

"But it's my baby!"

Sean winced a little at the anguish in Craig's voice. It didn't take a genius to figure out Craig's need for a family, and Sean was no genius.

"And it's Manny's body!" Emma cried out. "What about her?"

"I just … I just … I can't," he heard Manny whisper.

He waited, holding his breath, figuring he could probably reach the girls in a few seconds if Craig lost his temper, but praying that he wouldn't. He watched as Craig struggled to come to terms with Manny's bombshell, before he gave in and walked away, towards Sean.

With one eye on the girls and one on Craig, Sean lowered his eyes as Craig passed him. He'd reached out a hand to stop Craig before he even realised what he was doing. Meeting his eyes, Sean's reflected his sympathy.

"I'm sorry, man," he said quietly.

Craig nodded slowly before walking away.

He hadn't caught what Manny had said, but he saw Emma walking in his direction. With her back straight and her eyes swimming, Sean groaned inwardly as he felt his hand reach out once more, again before he realised what he was doing.

"Em?" he said quietly.

She stopped and looked at him, not really seeing him through the tears in her eyes. Without thinking about it, without any conscious thought at all, he pulled her into his arms and felt her give in, laying her head on his shoulder and sobbing like her heart was breaking. Again.


	5. A Little Closer

**AN: Heello! Me** **again with another update! I don't have much to say, except to thank everyone who's reviewed, especially samitiny (because you're so sweet, and you've religiously left a review for me with every chapter, thank you!), funnechick (because you always leave a nice, long review that I always enjoy reading, thank you!) 2whak4wrds (for always leaving such a sweet review, thank you!) and JEWLEE94 (for being so encouraging) and everyone else that I can't mention all by name because it would take so long. Thank you to all of you! Now, the story continues ...  
**

It was all too much. She was in the middle of an emotional breakdown, one that had been a long time coming, and that was the only reason she was standing in the school hallway, crying her eyes out, wrapped in her ex-boyfriend's arms.

Yeah, right.

If it had been anyone else, she'd have brushed past them with a muttered apology before heading for some hiding place to let it all out. Not Sean, though. It was because he understood, she figured. Or she hoped he did. He had as many issues with his family as she did with hers; albeit that they were different problems, but they were both hypersensitive about being abandoned, even if he'd never admit it.

And right now, she was feeling more abandoned, lonelier, than she would have ever thought possible. Which was stupid, she told herself, as more tears forced themselves under her tightly closed eyelids and slid down her cheeks. Her mom hadn't had an abortion. She'd been wanted.

Except that it could have all been so different. If her mom hadn't been strong enough, then Emma wouldn't exist. And that fragility of her own sense of existence was overwhelming her, as well as the sadness and anger that Manny's child would never get the chance to grow up, to have a best friend, to get her heart broken, to see the world...

And the only person who had made her forget the crap in her life was the boy holding her now. The boy whose brief and infrequent smiles had often been the highlight of her day. The boy who never really told her how he was feeling, but showed her in a million different ways … ways that had made her feel so special because she was the only one who knew them.

It was all too much. Practically yanking herself away from Sean, she looked up into his startled eyes before running as fast and as far as she could to get away.

She wandered around aimlessly, not really seeing anything and never stopping. She briefly thought about calling home to let them know she was okay, but she wasn't. She didn't know if she'd ever be okay. She'd tried to reason with herself, telling herself that it wasn't even anything to do with her, she'd tried blocking it from her mind, but she couldn't escape. It still hurt.

She found herself back at the now empty school, and sat down on the steps, still not seeing anything except, in her mind, a dark, curly-haired little boy, giggling as he tugged on his father's hand, who picked the boy up and put him on his shoulder, as his mom smiled indulgently at the twosome.

A tear trickled down her cheek.

"Yo, Greenpeace!" Jay's call shattered her daydream. "What are you doing out so late? Shouldn't you be back at home, doing homework or plotting to save the whales?"

Why was it, she groaned silently, that either Sean or Jay always appeared at the worst possible times? Well, to be fair, she hadn't been having that many good times recently.

"Not now, Jay," Emma sighed, swiping at her cheek.

"Aw, don't tell me you were crying," Jay teased as he walked towards her.

"Okay," Emma said curtly. "I won't."

As Jay took a seat next to her, he glanced at her face. "What's up?"

Emma turned to face him, so startled that she forgot to ignore him. "What?"

"I said, what's up?" Jay said calmly.

"You want to know what's up? With me?" Emma asked blankly.

"Sure," he shrugged.

"Why?" Emma questioned, completely baffled and totally unnerved by this new side to Jay.

"Because you're no fun when you're all sad and crap," Jay pointed out sweetly. "How do I get my kicks from annoying you when you don't react to my witty insults?"

"They aren't witty," Emma said automatically.

"See, that's the spirit!" Jay encouraged.

"Yeah," Emma smiled weakly.

"Don't tell me this is about Cameron," Jay groaned. "Anything but him."

"It's nothing to do with Sean," Emma promised, crossing her fingers. Well, it wasn't, not really. Just because she'd recklessly thrown herself into his arms earlier. Or had he pulled her into his embrace? She couldn't remember, it was all a bit blurry.

"You want a ride home?" Jay asked suddenly.

"You're offering me a lift home?" Emma blinked.

"On the promise that you come to school tomorrow with your usual annoying pep, so that I can mock you and laugh at your attempts to come back with a feeble insult," Jay said seriously.

"You're an odd guy, Jay," Emma laughed, in spite of herself.

"I'm unpredictable," he countered. "And you being all spaced out has sent Cameron into some weird mood. I want my badass Seany back."

Emma digested this information as she stood up and followed Jay to his car. Why would Sean care what was going on with her anymore? He'd cut her out of his life, hadn't he? And she'd attempted to do the same. So why did they keep involving themselves in each others lives?

"If you tell anyone I did this, I'm going to steal the new school DVD player," Jay threatened as he threw the car into gear and pulled away.

"If you tell anyone I did this, I'm going to tell everyone I caught you making out with Heather Sinclair," Emma replied serenely.

Jay chuckled. "Atta girl."

"You're gonna go back to being Jay tomorrow, right?" Emma asked, bemused.

"Bastard guaranteed," he assured her. "You want to point me in the direction of your place, or should I just follow a bright star in the sky?"

Emma gave him the directions, and sat back to contemplate on how surreal her life had become.

"What were you doing at school?" Emma asked suddenly, berating herself for not asking earlier. She snuck a glance in the back seat. Whether she expected to see a pile of stolen school goods or not, she wasn't sure.

"Relax," Jay grinned. "I wasn't at school. I was in the ravine."

"Great," Emma sighed. "I guess another Clean the Ravine lunchtime is needed."

"It's like our thing," Jay said slyly. "If I didn't disturb the precious environment, you wouldn't have a cause, and where would that leave you?"

"Alone," Emma murmured without thinking.

She felt the car lurch, and she suddenly realised what she'd said. Crap. All Jay had to do was talk to her for two minutes without a derogatory word and she was confessing her darkest secrets to him? How stupid could she get?

"So here we are," Jay said loudly.

"Thanks for the ride," Emma muttered as she clambered out. "And thanks, Jay. For proving that you're not a complete asshole.

"Hey!" she heard him yell as she turned towards the house. "Don't you ever say that again!"

She grinned slightly as she put her key in the door and stepped inside, bracing herself for the shouting that was sure to follow.

* * *

After the inevitable yelling, her mom had told her that Manny had been to the clinic. Emma had listened to the news passively, before escaping to the bathroom and throwing up. She rinsed out her mouth, her hands trembling as she held the glass of water, and glanced in the mirror. Her face was pale, her eyes were wide, but she'd known this was coming. She'd call Manny in a minute. Just as soon as she could be sure her voice wouldn't tremble. She'd be strong, because her friend needed her to be. She was whatever and whoever people needed her to be. That's what she did.

One stilted phone call later and Emma was lying on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. Manny had been quiet, and she could hear the tears in her voice. It just about broke Emma's heart all over again.

It was not a good month for her heart.

She'd wallow for just this one night, and then tomorrow, she'd go back to being her normal, annoyingly peppy self. Because not only did Manny need her, but it appeared that others did too.

Curling on her side, she picked up a framed photograph from her bedside table. The shot was taken a few months ago, and she smiled at the shameless mugging she and Manny had engaged in when Spike had got out the camera for Jack's first smile. Sean had arrived a few minutes after the photograph had been taken, and Spike had wasted no time in taking several of her and Sean. Sean had tried to say no, but she'd pleaded and wheedled until he'd laughingly given in. Spike had captured the moment perfectly, with Sean looking at her with a smile playing on his lips and her with a beaming answering smile on hers as she stared at him. It was the last truly happy day she could remember. The next day, Snake's health had started to deteriorate, and soon after, they'd gotten the diagnosis for cancer. Then, well, it had gotten worse.

Reaching under the bed, Emma pulled out the two photographs she'd been unable to delete or destroy. The first was of their first date, which had been so disastrous, and probably a warning to them for what lay in store, but they'd ignored it, their desire to be together stronger than the worst date ever. And the second was the picture from that day.

Looking at Sean's smiling face; she tried to figure out how it had gone so wrong. In a few short weeks, they'd become bitter enemies, and she had turned into a horrible bitch. But had that been before or after they'd broken up?

A quiet determination took hold. She wasn't going to be this person anymore. The person who had driven Sean away. The person that had offered Manny little sympathy when she'd needed it the most. The person who hadn't offered Craig even the slightest bit of concern when he'd been devastated by Manny's news. She was going to turn over a new leaf. Be a new Emma. The Emma she used to be, with a little less judgement, conscious or unconsciously given, and a lot more understanding.

She'd start by walking Manny to school and offering her the support she needed. She'd make sure Craig was okay, and let him talk if he needed to, for as long as he needed to. And Sean? Well, she'd figure something out. Hopefully.


	6. Open Door

**AN: Sorry for the delay, I wasn't feeling the love after the response to the last chapter, but the love is back now. Enjoy!**

Bounding out of bed with an energy she hadn't felt in months, Emma headed straight for the shower, beaming bright smiles at her slightly bemused parents. As she stepped under the hot spray, she concocted a plan to cheer up Manny. Shopping was always a foolproof way to cheer her up, so she'd call round and drag Manny out to the mall. Maybe she'd even let Manny pick her some new clothes. It was just the pick-me-up that they both needed.

Half an hour later and Emma was heading towards Manny's, her heart sinking. Just as she'd been leaving the house, her mom had pulled her aside and let her know that Snake's appointment with the doctor to find out if the chemo had worked and he was in remission or not was scheduled for Friday. She forced herself to think positive thoughts, because Snake had to be remission. He just had to. She wouldn't allow him not to be. And she was one determined girl.

Plastering a huge smile on her face, she headed up to Manny's place, and knocked on the door.

A groggy Manny, still in her pyjamas, opened the door.

"You need a shower," Emma proclaimed, her nose wrinkling.

"Go'way," Manny muttered. "Too early."

"Manny, it's ten in the morning!" Emma protested with a grin.

"Go'way," she muttered again.

"We're going shopping," Emma bribed in a wheedling voice. "You can pick clothes for me."

Manny paused for a second, considered it, but ultimately shrugged.

"We can get our hair done!" Emma said in a burst of inspiration.

"Give me ten minutes," Manny said, a spark lighting her eyes.

"I'll give you twenty," Emma murmured, wrinkling her nose again.

* * *

"Emma Nelson, you are going to walk into that school, yes, dressed like that," Manny rolled her eyes off Emma's pleading look, "and it's going to be a new leaf for both of us. No more Craig and all that drama for me, and no more judgmental outbursts from you." 

Emma shot her a glare.

"Not that I didn't love the judgmental outbursts," Manny soothed sweetly. "It's just … okay, I didn't love them. You can still crusade though. Just not quite so …"

"Judgmentally?" Emma offered with a groan.

"Exactly," Manny nodded as she tugged on Emma's arm. "Look, you look hot, and I look hot, and we're going into that school together, looking hot."

"I don't feel hot. I feel decidedly chilly," Emma said pointedly, staring down at the hem of her skirt.

"You get used to it," Manny grinned. "Now if anyone whispers about us, we know it's because we look hot."

"Much better than what they've been whispering about us recently," Emma agreed.

"So, let's go!" Manny whined.

With a deep breath for courage, Emma Nelson gripped Manny Santos' hand tightly and they stepped around the corner towards the school.

Extremely conscious of the fact that her skirt was several inches above her knees.

But her legs were really the least of her troubles. Her attempt to lift Manny's spirits and become a new person had kind of backfired. Her hair was now layered softly around her face, which Manny had enthused about as much as Emma had enthused about Manny's new hair, which she'd lost several inches of and was currently styled sleekly straight. But that wasn't all. Manny had, as well as adding to her own pile of new clothes, funded by her grateful mom, added a pile of clothes for Emma in styles that she'd never worn before. Shorter skirts, fitted low-cut tops and skinny jeans, all showing off a figure she hadn't really bared before.

But if dressing her cheered Manny up, then that was all that mattered, she repeated to herself as she glared at Toby, whose eyes were fixated on her legs. It was a new start, she thought as she gritted her teeth at JT, whose eyes were fixated … well, higher than her legs but not quite at her face.

Ignoring Manny's giggling, she made a little detour in their path into the building and managed to stamp innocently on their faces, quickly shocking them out of their stares. With a huge grin, Emma smoothed down her skirt, silently cursed it for not being three inches longer, and linked arms with Manny before passing through the building doors.

Spotting Jay by his locker, Alex draped across him, Emma's smile grew wicked. As she passed them, she reached out and let her hand trail across his arm.

"Hey Jay," she practically purred. "Thanks for the lift last night."

Biting her lip, she had to force herself not to laugh at Alex's wide-eyed stare and the laughter in Jay's eyes, that he tried to cover up, with a "In your dreams, Nelson." Before he totally checked her out, earning a thump from Alex.

"I _love _this Emma," Manny squealed.

Emma beamed happily at her. "I'm going to be totally positive from now on. Snake's got an appointment this week to see if he's in remission, and I know he will be."

"I know he will, too," Manny said softly, giving her best friend a little squeeze.

Spotting a familiar hooded figure, Emma felt her smile freeze, but she quickly relaxed it. The moment of truth. Sean Cameron. How was she going to be the new Emma around Sean?

With a huge smile, of course. "Hey Sean," she grinned stupidly as they passed him. "The English homework was pretty brutal, huh?"

Without waiting for an answer, she tugged Manny along a little faster on their way to homeroom. She waited until they were sitting down before letting out the breath she'd been holding.

"I'm so proud of you," Manny said with twinkling eyes. "I just hope I can do as well when I see Craig."

"I'll hold your hand," Emma assured her. The English homework was pretty brutal? What, was she eleven? Letting her head fall to her hands, she groaned silently. She'd seen Sean stare at her as they'd practically run past him. He probably thought she'd finally gone insane. One minute she was yelling at him to leave her alone, the next she was crying in his arms, and finally, she acts like she's on happy pills.

Totally insane.

She wasn't going to worry about it though, because that's something the old Emma would do. And she was the new Emma. The non-judgmental Emma with a ready smile and a willing ear.

Which reminded her – she needed to find Craig at some point and make sure he was okay. She wasn't entirely sure that shopping and a new haircut would work as well on Mr Manning, but she'd think of something, because she was Emma Nelson, and she was going to be Super-Friend. Whether Craig wanted her to be or not, she grinned to herself.

And caught Sean's eye as he walked into the classroom. Wonderful. Keeping the smile firmly in place, she let her eyes lock with his confused gaze for a second before looking back at Manny desperately.

So New Emma was going to be Crazy Grinning Emma. Awesome.

* * *

Emma's face was aching by lunchtime. She'd smiled through MI, through English, and through Chemistry, and now she was tired. Heading for the cafeteria with Manny, she felt her freeze as they headed for the back of the line. 

"Craig," she heard Manny whisper.

"It's okay," Emma assured her. "You can do this."

"I can't," Manny breathed, her voice shaking.

"We can do this," Emma amended, tightening her grip slightly, reassuringly.

"Can you go talk to him?" Manny pleaded. "Make him understand? Make him not hate me?"

One look at Manny's terrified face, and Emma was grabbing a sandwich and heading towards Craig, leaving the money with Manny.

"Hey," she said softly as she took a seat next to him.

He barely lifted his head as he mumbled a greeting. At least, she hoped it was a greeting.

Racking her brain for something to say that didn't sound totally lame, Emma finally opened her mouth to say, "Do you want to go shopping?"

Okay, so that had his attention. Raising his head, he stared blankly at her. "Shopping?"

"It's harder to cheer up boys," Emma defended herself with a little smile.

"Is she … is she okay?" Craig asked as if the words were being dragged out of him.

"She's … dealing with it," Emma sighed. "She's pretending to be fine in the hope that one day she'll wake up and it will really be fine."

"Yeah," Craig nodded. "Can you tell her – tell her that I hope she's okay."

"It'll mean a lot to her," Emma said, reaching out her hand to pat his arm.

"It will be fine one day, right?" Craig asked, looking at her with those puppy dog eyes that she couldn't resist.

Leaning her head down to rest on his shoulder, she nodded. "I promise."

He let his head rest on hers for a second. "Thanks, Emma."

"Anytime," she said earnestly with another damn smile before standing up with her sandwich and heading for Manny, who was sitting and watching them with wide eyes.

Except Jay stopped her.

"I'm taking that DVD player," he told her conversationally.

"Whatever you say, Jay," Emma smiled prettily up at him. "It was totally worth it."

"Nice to see you back, Nelson," Jay nodded seriously at her before moving past her. "You look hot."

"I'm watching you," she whispered conspiratorially before he passed her.

She heard him chuckling as she started walking again.

"Is she high today or what?" Jay grumbled as he took a seat next to Sean.

"Emma?" Sean didn't even bother to pretend he hadn't been watching them.

"Little Miss Chuckles," Jay rolled his eyes. "Made some crazy joke about me giving her a lift last night and sent Alex into a right snit. As if I'd let her infect my beautiful machine."

"Uh huh," Sean was sceptical. "Have you noticed how much you talk about Emma, Jay?"

"No more than any other pesky little girls who won't stop stalking me," he said mildly.

"If you've got a thing for Emma …" Sean tried to keep his voice even, but a little tremor on her name betrayed him.

"Greenpeace is all yours, don't worry," Jay smirked. "Alex is more than enough trouble for me."

"Emma and I have been over for months," Sean reminded him. And himself, with a curse.

"All I'm saying is, you could do worse," Jay shrugged.

"Than _Emma_?" Sean almost choked on his soda.

"I'm feeling kinda brotherly towards Miss Nelson," Jay said smoothly. "Like, I can rag on her all I want. You, on the other hand, trip over yourself every time she's within five feet of you. And since I'm feeling brotherly, I have to ask your intentions."

"My intentions are to get you therapy," Sean frowned. "You're feeling brotherly towards Emma?"

"You tell Alex and I'll tell Snake who stole his computer," Jay threatened. "Emma is like the little sister I want to make cry, but if you make her cry, I'll feel sorry for her. And I don't want to feel sorry for her."

"Okay, that's more like it," Sean chuckled wryly. "You want to make her cry."

"Only because it doesn't matter to her if _I _make her cry," Jay said, taking a big bite out of Sean's burger.

Sean didn't want to touch that insinuation with a barge pole. He had no intention of making Emma cry, ever again. He'd have to talk to her to do that, and he and Emma were best off far away from each other.

"Hey."

Emma's voice made him jump.

"Hey," he muttered in surprise, refusing to look up.

"You want my sandwich?" Emma chuckled as she watched Jay take another bite of Sean's burger.

"What do you want, Emma?" Sean spun around and glared up at her. She was supposed to be far, far away from him. And … wow. Since when did Emma wear those kinds of tops? And were those … her legs? He forced his gaze upwards and fixed on her face. Had she had her hair done differently or something?

"Play nice, Sean," Jay grinned happily as he took the rest of the burger, taking note of where Sean's eyes had been looking.

"Shut up, Jay," Sean growled.

"I'll let you have my sandwich if I can show you something," Emma attempted a bribe, forcing herself not to run away from Sean's scowl. She was going to be Sean's friend. Just like they used to be. When she was madly in love with him. Just, without the madly in love part this time.

"Fine," Sean stood up, glaring at Jay and his empty plate.

"Don't make her cry!" Jay called out loudly as they headed out of the cafeteria.

Sean swore a silent revenge.

"So, what do you want to show me?" Sean asked.

"Nothing, actually," Emma laughed a little nervously. "What I wanted was to apologise."

Sean blinked. This, he hadn't been expecting.

"For yelling at you the other day. And getting you in trouble with Raditch. And for our break up. I was … judgmental," Emma swallowed the word as she raced through the apology. "You were trying to talk to me, and I didn't make time for you."

"It's not your fault," Sean felt compelled to mutter.

"Maybe not all of it, but some of it at least," she attempted a smile. "So, I wanted to say that I'm still your friend, Sean Cameron. Even if you hate me, and I annoy you, and you never speak to me again. I'm still your friend."

And with one last damned smile, Emma walked away, leaving a stunned Sean staring after her.

She hoped he was admiring her legs.


	7. Still A Little

**AN: I'm not sure what a girl has to do to get some reviews, but I'm willing to try. Reviewing does really help authors write, guys, and I know you're reading this. Whether you're enjoying it or hating the direction it's taking, I need some feedback, otherwise this story will drift into oblivion.**

As Emma brushed her hair for the eighteenth time that morning, more to sooth her nerves than because her hair had suddenly become unruly, she took one deep breath after another, hoping that one of them would calm her racing pulse.

Today was Friday. Judgement day. Snake's appointment with the oncologist.

She'd tried not to think about it all week, and while she'd been at school, it had been a fairly easy task. Trying to school her thoughts and words to be less judgemental had been hard work, and had made her truly appreciate how mean she must have sounded in recent months. She was gradually getting used to her new clothes, and every morning it was a little easier to leave the house without wanting to run back and change into something old and comfortable.

And at school, there were new things to adjust to. For example, she'd been asked out by three different boys, one from the grade above, for a date this weekend. Manny had spent twenty-three minutes yelling at her when she'd found out Emma had turned them all down. For another thing, Jay was being strangely nice to her. Well, not nice exactly, but he always started the school day by yelling out a demeaning compliment, to which Emma wasn't sure whether to be insulted, amused, or giggly. He generally followed it up with his usual attempts to wind her up, but she was learning to just let it all wash over her. Jay wasn't the big bad bully he claimed to be, at least not anymore. He wasn't exactly sweetness and light, but she saw a grudging respect from him towards her now, and instead of making her life hell, Jay was just like those injured creatures she always used to bring home and make her mom's life a misery. He'd scratch and claw the person trying to help him until his last breath. No, Jay didn't scare her anymore, and he knew it.

Sean, however, was an entirely different story. She'd greeted him with a smile and a cheery good morning every day this week, and she'd gotten nothing except for a blank stare in return. She'd smiled at him when she'd caught his eye in class, and he'd responded with a frown. She knew he watched her. A lot. But it wasn't the same way he used to watch her, before they'd ever gone out, or after they'd broken up the first time. There was no cute smile hovering on his lips, and there was no sadness in his eyes that he desperately tried to hide. She couldn't tell what he was thinking at all, and she couldn't figure out whether it was because he'd gotten better at hiding his emotions, or she'd stopped being able to read him as well as she used to. And it wasn't that he hated her. It didn't matter how many low cut tops Emma wore, how many short skirts she put on, how pretty her hair looked now, for Sean just didn't care anymore. And that was the most painful truth Emma had ever faced.

The results of Snake's cancer treatment might change that though.

Putting down the hairbrush and grabbing her bag, Emma climbed the stairs wearily from the basement and headed out without stopping for breakfast. She arrived at school early, and headed to homeroom. She wasn't sure if she could face being the new Emma today, especially when the one person who meant the most to her didn't care if she was cheerful or depressed, sweet or spiteful.

Sighing as she took a folder out of her bag, she sank into her chair and looked over the homework she was due to give in next period. It wasn't anywhere near her best effort, but the teachers were all letting her slide this week. On the one hand she was grateful, on the other she resented it like hell. If Snake hadn't been a teacher at Degrassi, she wouldn't get any special treatment at all.

As the class began to drift in, Emma kept her eyes on her homework, even though her vision was blurred and she couldn't read a single word of it. She just couldn't handle being cheerful today. She couldn't handle the rejection.

The day passed as slowly as it could. Emma had barely managed five words all day, and Manny was keeping a close eye on her. She'd deliberately steered clear of Sean, consciously looking in a different direction to wherever he was. As always, she could feel his eyes watching her, but she couldn't bear to look up and see indifference there. Not today. She had a feeling, deep inside, that the news wasn't going to be good. She was terrified of losing Snake, and she couldn't push the negative thoughts away.

As the bell rang for the end of the last period, Emma took her time packing her things away, knowing that Snake would be waiting for her on the steps outside, that her mom would be waiting in the car, and that the results would be waiting for all of them on the doctors desk. It wasn't fair of her to delay the results, but she couldn't force herself to hurry. She accepted Manny's hug, JT's gentle pat on her arm, Toby's gentle smile and Liberty's hand covering hers. She let them all file out, leaving her alone in the classroom with nothing but the fear of what might be.

Stepping through the door, she made her way through the halls, mentally squaring her shoulders and lifting her head, so lost in thought that she didn't see him standing by his locker, watching her. She didn't notice him at all until she felt his hand on her arm.

"Sean?" she questioned, turning to face him with a look of puzzlement. "Are you okay?"

She watched him blink in surprise. "That was gonna be my line," he said slowly.

"Oh, I'm fine," Emma attempted a smile and was surprised to find that it wasn't that difficult to summon up a genuine one.

"Tell Mr Simpson that I hope it goes okay," he said gruffly.

"I will," Emma assured him.

She waited for him to say something else, but he didn't say anything. He just let go of her arm slowly, and she watched his hand fall back against his side.

With a hesitant smile, she dragged her eyes away from him and focused on Snake, who was watching her with a nervous smile on his face.

"Hey," he greeted her.

"It's going to be okay," Emma told him as she slipped her arm through his and they headed towards her mom's car, her heart feeling lighter than it had all day. "I have a feeling that everything is going to be okay."

"I hope so," was Snake's fervent answer.

* * *

Emma had called Manny as she as she'd gotten home to tell her the good news. The great news. The best news she'd ever had. Manny had cried with relief and offered to come around, but Emma had told her to stay home, she just wanted to be alone for tonight, but they'd definitely celebrate with shopping and lunch tomorrow.

Since Joey had offered to baby sit Jack that night, and her mom and Snake were enjoying some much needed and deserved time alone, Emma was alone in the basement. Taking advantage, she did a crazy dance of joy, releasing the energy she'd been holding onto for the last few months. The weight was finally off her shoulders, and she was free to be as mad as she wanted. Snake was going to be alright. No more vomiting, no more tiredness. She wouldn't be needed to baby sit every night of the week. She could go on dates if she wanted, or have a night at Manny's in front of the TV with popcorn and ice cream. Snake was free, and so was she.

She couldn't contain all the emotions she'd bottled up for so long. The wetness on her cheeks was a testament to that. When a sob racked her body, she put a trembling hand over her mouth. One last cry, and she could put the last horrendous few months behind her for good.

A knock at her window made her jump and spin around, her eyes wide. She recognised those jeans, those sneakers.

Swiping at her cheeks, she leaned over and opened the latch. The body doubled over and then he was standing in her room.

"Oh, Sean," Emma laughed through her tears. She didn't know why he was there, and she didn't care. All she wanted to do was through her arms around him and let him hold her, but she didn't have that right anymore.

"Is it good news?" he asked, puzzled by her tears and laughter.

"The best," Emma smiled beatifically. "He's in remission. The cancer is gone."

"Good," Sean said simply. He didn't smile, or move, but let his glance move around the room.

"Did you, uh, want some homework or something?" Emma asked, thoroughly confused now as she took in the fact that Sean Cameron was really in her room.

Looking at her as if she was mad, Sean shook his head. "I wanted to make sure Simpson was okay."

"It mattered that much to you?" Emma questioned.

Sean's answer was a shrug.

"Does this mean we're friends?" Emma ventured tentatively.

"We can't be friends, Em," Sean said matter-of-factly.

"Sure we can," Emma grinned. "Today is a great day, Sean. I think anything can happen today."

"Anything?" Sean smiled a little.

"Anything," she insisted. "I was starting to think that you'd never talk to me again, but you did today. And Snake's healthy. And now you're here, standing in my bedroom, and we're talking to each other and not shouting."

"We didn't always shout," Sean reminded her.

"Yeah," Emma agreed. "Stony silence was more our thing."

Sean actually laughed. "You're different, Em."

"You're not the only one who can change," she reminded him primly.

"And yet you're still Emma," Sean said wryly.

"You used to care about me," she said softly, reaching out a hand to touch his arm.

"Sean and Emma," he murmured. "We can't be those kids again."

"But we could be Sean and Emma, good friends," Emma persisted.

"Could we?" Sean's voice seemed to hold a hint of hope. "Even after what I did to Simpson?"

"Taking his laptop," Emma's voice fell. "That was a crappy thing to do, Sean. It almost killed him."

"You think I don't know that?" Sean sighed. "I told him that I did it, yesterday. He looked so cold. I don't want to be that guy anymore, Emma."

"Then don't be," she pleaded. "Be Sean Cameron, the guy who stood up for Toby and JT to Jay. Be the guy who stood up and told the school to stop laughing at our stupid dance routing. Be the guy you can be."

"Yeah, that didn't work out so well, last time," Sean said dryly. "This is who I'm meant to be. The guy I'll always be."

"Not to me, you won't," she said firmly. "I didn't fall in love with a thief, or a coward."

"I'm sorry I broke your heart," he said softly.

"Then mend it by being a good guy again," she smiled up at him. "Be my friend. Be Jay's friend. Be Toby and JT's friend. Be Amy's boyfriend, if you have to. It doesn't mean you have to be a saint or a sinner. Just somewhere in between."

"Amy and I broke up," Sean said distractedly.

"I'm sorry," Emma grinned.

"Don't look quite so broken up about it," Sean laughed.

"You're better off without her," Emma said simply.

"So, this day where anything can happen …" Sean trailed off.

"Can we be friends?" Emma offered once more. "I'm trying to be less judgemental, and listen more. I won't judge you, or Jay. Well, I might," she admitted with a smile, "but I won't say it out loud."

"Jay told me that I couldn't make you cry anymore," he said with a smile. "He wants to be the only one to make you cry."

"He's so sweet," Emma said dryly.

"You think you can handle being friends with a friend of Jay?" Sean asked.

"Jay and I have an understanding," Emma giggled.

"Do we?" Sean questioned seriously.

Taking a risk, Emma stepped forward and slid her arms around Sean's stiff body, letting her head fall against his shoulder. "I need a friend, Sean."

He let his arms circle her small body, and let her relax against him. "So do I, Em."


	8. What I Really Need

**AN: Thanks for the reviews, guys! Hope you enjoy this new installment.**

"So you and Sean are going to be friends?" Manny asked disbelievingly.

Emma nodded as they made their way to class on Monday morning.

"Friends? Amigos? Buds? Pals?" Manny reiterated.

"Yes," Emma laughed. "What's so hard to believe about that?"

Manny arched an eyebrow.

"We can be friends," Emma said firmly as she put her books down on the desk.

"Hey Emma," Sean greeted her quietly as he passed her on the way to his desk. "Manny."

"Hey Sean," Emma smiled at him, before turning to Manny. "See?"

"Yeah," Manny said slowly. "Not gonna happen."

Emma pulled a face at her before taking her seat. She slid a sneaky glance towards Sean, caught his eye, and she offered another smile before looking away.

"Oh, Emma," Manny laughed softly. "You're so screwed."

"Just friends," Emma said determinedly.

* * *

Smoothing down her skirt, which she felt was still too short but she was dealing with it, Emma strolled casually towards Sean, who was standing with Jay at his locker. 

"Jay," she said smoothly, greeting him with a cool smile.

"Hey, _buddy_," he emphasised with a smirk.

"Sean, you want to have lunch with me and Manny?" Emma said a bit too quickly, before cursing herself for letting her nervousness show. She had to overcome it. Sean was her friend, she'd known him longer than Jay had, and a few months ago, she would have said she knew him better than anyone. She had to trust that he wouldn't blank her, as he'd done in the past.

"I can't," he said apologetically, offering her a slight smile as he closed his locker.

"Hot date with Jay?" Emma teased, breathing a silent sigh of relief that he hadn't just stalked off.

"He wishes," Sean chuckled.

"Dream on, Cameron," Jay rolled his eyes. "My hot dates run to tall, raven-haired beauties. Which you're not – on all three counts."

Sean punched Jay's arm good-naturedly as he started to walk towards the doors, Emma on one side and Jay on the other. Emma stifled a giggle at the picture they must have made – Jay all in black, Sean in his hoodie and baggie jeans, and Emma, wearing a short blue skirt with a sunshine yellow tee-shirt that asked people to smile and be cheerful.

"I kinda promised Simpson that I'd fix his car," Sean explained to Emma.

"Must be your do-gooding rubbing off on old Seany again," Jay grumbled, but Emma could hear the distinct lack of bite in his tone.

"Someone has to balance out the evil," she said breezily.

"I suppose I'm the evil, huh?" Jay grinned.

"Sometimes," Emma retorted, smiling at Sean as he held the door open for her and Jay to step through.

"The minute you clean that ravine again, we're through," Jay warned Sean. Turning to Emma, he waggled a finger at her. "Don't you make him all boring and crap again. I'd just got him all nice and interesting."

"I can hear you, you know," Sean grumbled as he stopped by Snake's car and popped the hood.

"Just remember, _I_ may not be the devil," Jay muttered as he walked away.

"I think he just called me the devil," Emma laughed.

"Temptation," Sean's faint mumble came from somewhere under the hood.

Emma grinned happily, until she caught Manny's eye and quickly schooled her expression. Okay, she was screwed. So what?

"Jay thinks I can tempt you?" Emma managed to dredge up something that sounded a little like a laugh. "Does he not remember our break-up?"

"He remembers," he said. "Can you pass me a wrench?"

Emma stared blankly at the tools by her feet. "A what now?"

"Long handle, round head with a U-shape cut out," Sean explained.

Gingerly picking out what she thought he was describing, she handed it to him. Since he took it and started, well, wrenching, she figured she'd got it right.

"So how come you're fixing Snake's car?" Emma asked as she took out her lunch and sat behind Sean, trying not to admire the view. "I thought he was mad at you?"

"He still is," Sean sighed as he stood up and wiped his brow with the back of his hand. "I figured that fixing his car was a step in the right direction, though."

"He'll really appreciate it, Sean," Emma assured him, holding out half a sandwich for him.

Sean took it gratefully and demolished it in three bites. "I hope so."

Emma shrugged lightly. "Money's still tight, after Jack, the chemo and Mom working fewer shifts. He'd never be able to afford a mechanic."

"I know the feeling," Sean said wryly.

"One day, Sean Cameron, you and I will be able to afford mechanics and maybe even cars that don't break down every few hundred miles," Emma sighed dreamily.

"Never let it be said that we don't have dreams," Sean rolled his eyes before standing up and disappearing under the hood again.

"Maybe you'll even be that mechanic that I can afford one day," Emma grinned.

"Your car I'll do for free," Sean offered as he closed the hood. "Only a week more, and this car will run like clockwork. And for more than a few hundred miles."

"Snake will definitely appreciate it," Emma said as she stood up. "It'll save him a fortune."

Sean gave her a look.

"Maybe he'll even be able to save for a new laptop now," she said, fixing a bright smile on her face. "And we both know how nuts he is over computers."

"Yeah," was all Sean said as he shielded his eyes.

"Lighten up, Sean. Put it behind you," Emma patted his arm, finding a spot that wasn't covered in grease. "And go clean up, we've got class in ten minutes."

"Yes, Mom," Sean grumbled as he gathered his stuff together. "See you in homeroom?"

She nodded, feeling her heart lift a little lighter, and let out a groan. Manny was right. She was so royally screwed.

* * *

"Manny, I need help," Emma said theatrically as she threw down her books and took a seat next to her oldest friend. 

"Decided to admit that you're screwed?" Manny said with a grin.

"Something like that," she glared at her.

"Well, you'll be happy to know that Craig and I managed to say hello today without either one of us shouting or crying," Manny sighed.

"That's really good," Emma said as she reached out to squeeze her hand.

"And you and Sean seem to be getting along really well," Manny said with an arched eyebrow.

"Hence me being screwed," she sighed. "I want to be his friend, Manny, I really do."

"But you luuuurve him," Manny singsonged with a huge, beaming smile.

"I do not," Emma said tightly. "I just …"

"Want to jump him and smother him in big, wet, noisy kisses?" Manny tried again.

"Not … in public," Emma said in a horrified whisper.

"You made out with Chris in a public place," she pointed out.

"That was Chris," Emma dismissed him. "Sean's … different."

"Because you love him," Manny said simply.

"Not after he broke my heart," Emma said, seemingly for the millionth time. "I just want to … jump him and smother him in big, wet, noisy kisses," she sighed. "In private."

"Sure," Manny nodded, a smile playing on her lips. "I can just imagine what that would do to Sean's ego. I mean, being thrown out by his parents at a young age, he probably welcomes all kinds of rejection."

"I …" Emma paused, tilted her head, and let her lips form a silent 'o'.

"I'm like, totally smart, huh?" Manny teased.

"I am officially the worst girlfriend ever," Emma said, her voice rising a little in surprise.

"Maybe you could be a totally rockin' ex-girlfriend though," Manny suggested. "Maybe we both could."

"Well, he's definitely not going to want to be my boyfriend ever again," Emma groaned, letting her head fall onto her arms on the desk. "I just need to find a way to stop wanting to …"

"Jump him and smother him in big, wet, noisy kisses," Manny supplied helpfully.

"Exactly."

"If you figure that out," Manny said, letting her eyes drift to the doorway, where she saw Craig talking excitedly to Spinner and Marco. "Let me know."

"Manny," Emma turned her head slightly to see where Manny's gaze had wandered to. "We're both so very, very screwed."


	9. I Remember It Well

**AN: Ah! Apologies for not updating this for a while, I was, well, detained. To make up for it, this is a fairly cutesy, fluffy chapter. Hope you all enjoy it and I promise I won't be so long with the next chapter!**

"Emma!" Manny shrieked, running towards her at full speed.

Blinking slowly as Manny just managed to stop before sending them both sprawling across the steps to Degrassi, Emma stared up at her friend bemusedly.

"What's up?" she asked eventually, when Manny remained oddly silent after her outburst.

"Craig invited me over to Joeys tonight," Manny whispered, looking around as if she was afraid that someone might be listening in.

"That's great!" Emma enthused.

Manny glared at her.

"That's … not great?" she tried again, confused.

"I don't know! I don't know whether he's inviting me over as a friendly gesture or whether he wants to, you know …" Manny trailed off as she fell heavily onto the step next to her.

"Have you tried asking him?" Emma asked sensibly.

"I can't ask him!" Manny cried in horror.

"You can have sex with him, but you can't ask him whether he's asking you out as a date or a friend?" Emma mused dryly. Seeing the look on the brunette's face, Emma stopped grinning. "Okay, how did he ask you?"

"He called me last night," Manny sighed. "I had to pretend that it was JT on the phone, otherwise my parents wouldn't have let me speak to him."

"And he said ..?" Emma prompted.

"He asked how I was, and I said I was fine, and then he asked if I wanted to come over to Joeys tonight and we could get pizza and watch a movie," Manny said quickly in one breath.

"Ah," Emma said wisely.

"So, is it a date or a friends thing?" Manny asked impatiently.

"I have no idea," Emma admitted with a laugh. "Why don't you just go with the intention of being friends, and see what happens?"

"Like you and Sean?" Manny smirked as she nudged her.

"Sean and I are just friends, no seeing-what-happens," Emma said firmly. "Seeing what happens is not part of our friends description."

Manny clapped her hands together excitedly, making Emma jump. She eyed her warily, suspicious of her sudden change of mood.

"I've got it! We can double date!" Manny squealed. "You and Sean can come with me and it won't be so weird."

"It won't be so weird?" Emma looked at her in horror. "You've just added 1000 weirdness to the already-weird evening!"

"Oh Em!" Manny pleaded. "You know I'd do it for you!"

"Liar," she muttered. "Please don't ask me to do this, Manny."

"Okay," Manny mumbled, her face downcast.

"Why don't I ask JT to come along instead?" she offered, wanting to make Manny smile again.

"Uh, not a good idea right now," Manny said quietly, but Emma saw her eyes were twinkling.

"I swear, you don't normally have this many mood swings in such a short space of time, do you?" Emma asked, feeling a little drained. "Why can't JT come?"

"He, uh, let's just say that Craig might think that JT … likes him," she said, collapsing into giggles.

"And why would he think that?" Emma asked cluelessly.

"Because JT was staring at Craig in the showers," Manny said through her laughter.

"Yeah, that would do it," Emma was still confused, but she smiled at Manny. "Come on, let's get to homeroom. You and Craig will figure things out."

"No thanks to you," Manny grumbled good-naturedly as she let Emma pull her up.

* * *

Feeling horrible, Emma half-heartedly avoided Manny for the rest of the day. She didn't feel that horrible though, as she knew Manny would be fine. It would be better for Craig and Manny to spend time alone together and figure out where they were both at, after the baby drama.

And she really, _really_ didn't want to ask Sean to come on a date with her, Manny and Craig. She knew how to spell a-w-k-w-a-r-d. And there was no way in hell that a double date featuring herself and Manny with their ex-boyfriends could be anything but, friends or not.

Which is why she gave a huge sigh of relief when she got finally got home after helping Snake out after school and shut the door behind them. She'd call Manny tomorrow and see how it went, but for now, all she wanted to do was find the ice cream, head down to her bedroom and get into her pjs before watching some horribly romantic film that would let her have a good cry. A perfect Friday night, she thought happily.

It took her exactly eight minutes and five seconds to put on her favourite Snoopy pyjamas and pick out a DVD. She was currently rifling through the freezer for the tub of phish food that she knew was in there somewhere.

"Em?" Snake's voice came from behind her somewhere, amusement colouring his tone.

"Not tonight," she called out from the depths of the freezer. "I'm not babysitting, I'm not going out to some weird sushi restaurant with you and mom and I'm not helping you with your model airplanes. Tonight is all mine!"

"Model airplanes?"

Emma froze, her butt in the air as she was bent towards the freezer. "Sean?"

Her face appeared from behind the freezer door, shock written all over it.

"I take it Manny didn't tell you," he said dryly, taking in the image she made. Kinda rumpled, and totally comfortable. Even in her discomfort.

Groaning, Emma straightened, regretfully leaving the ice cream where she'd just found it.

"Double date at Craigs," she sighed, taking in the fact that Sean appeared to be dressed up. Even if dressed up to him meant not wearing his stupid hat and hoodie, and wearing jeans that weren't quite as baggy as they normally were.

"So she did tell you?" Sean asked, confused.

"She told me, I told her no, she took that to mean of course I'd love to come on your awkward date with the father of your unborn and never-will-be-born baby." Emma closed her eyes and mentally killed her best friend.

"She sounded kinda desperate," Sean said slowly. "She was almost crying at lunch when she asked me. I thought you'd told her that it was okay. Which I thought was actually weird at the time, but still, since we're friends now …"

"Manny is desperate, alright," Emma said under her breath. "Well, I guess that means no 'Pretty Woman' for me tonight. Give me five minutes to change."

"Uh, Em, if this is too weird, we don't have to go," Sean told her. "I mean, I know we're friends, and this is just Manny being weird and it's not like we're on a date or anything, but if it's too, you know …"

"Its fine," Emma lied. It wasn't fine. It was screwing with her head. Even now she was mentally picking out her shortest skirt, her lowest-cut blouse and wondering how long it would take her to curl her hair just right. Probably longer than five minutes, she thought sadly. "I just hope she's told Craig that we're coming."

"Me too," Sean agreed.

Disappearing downstairs, Emma threw on a denim skirt that at least covered half of her thighs and tugged a red t-shirt over her head before attempting to fluff her hair and sighing when it fell just as flat as it had before Sean had appeared at her door.

She was applying her lip gloss when she suddenly started giggling. She was acting like this was a real date, when it really wasn't. It wasn't even close, since Manny had neatly conned them both into it, and they were doing it because Manny needed them. Rubbing the gloss off her lips, Emma slipped off her skirt and pulled on a pair of jeans with a sad smile. Getting over Sean wasn't easy when he was upstairs, ready to take her on their non-date with Degrassi's most messed-up couple.

Not that she wasn't over him already, of course.

_You're not over him_

"Shut up," Emma told herself, annoyed.

Maybe the whole friends thing really was a terrible idea.

"Emma, you ready?" Sean called from the top of the basement stairs.

"As ready as I'll ever be," she muttered as she grabbed her purse.

"You look nice," Sean said as she appeared at the top of the stairs.

"You mean you didn't like Snoopy?" she attempted a smile.

"Not really my thing," he told her seriously.

"You used to love my Eeyore pyjamas," she said without thinking.

Slapping her hand across her mouth, she stared at Sean in horror. "I can't believe I just said that! I'm so sorry!"

Sean took a deep breath before he followed her out of the door. "Don't worry about it."

"Great," Emma muttered, berating herself. "How to make this evening even more awkward than it already is."

Smothering a little smirk, Sean fell into step with her as they headed for Joey's. "Its fine, Emma. At least they're going to feel more uncomfortable than us, right?"

"Our competition is the couple who had an abortion," Emma said deprecatingly, smiled reluctantly, even though it wasn't really funny.

"See? Remembering that I loved your Eeyore pjs isn't nearly as bad as that," Sean teased, a smile flickering on his lips.

"I guess not," Emma agreed. "Why did you love those pjs?"

"Because you used to get all grumpy in the mornings when you slept in late and I'd arrive early …" Sean mimicked her morning face as they walked towards Joeys. "And you looked just like the picture, when Eeyore had lost …"


End file.
